Monetization reports and market data
Documents
Mintegral ROAS Bidding 101
Mintegral’s ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) bidding strategy is designed to automate user acquisition by leveraging machine learning to predict user lifetime value in real time.
- Mintegral’s ROAS bidding strategy automates user acquisition by using machine learning to predict real-time user lifetime value, shifting optimization from volume-based metrics like CPI or CPM to profitability.
- Successful implementation requires a two-week calibration period for postback data collection and a minimum daily budget of $500 per country.
- Advertisers should initiate ROAS bids at 1.1 to 1.5 times their standard CPI to provide the algorithm with sufficient data to identify high-value users.
Games Industry: Trends 2023 and Predictions 2024
The global gaming industry is currently undergoing a structural transition from the rapid, acquisition-fueled expansion of the pandemic era toward a disciplined focus on profitability and operational efficiency.
- Mobile gaming experienced a 5% decrease in consumer spending last year, marking a shift from the pandemic-era surge as the market returns to a higher, yet stabilized, post-COVID baseline.
- Developers are increasingly using 'bait-and-switch' onboarding tactics, such as incorporating merge, tower defense, or puzzle mechanics in tutorials to lower CPI, before transitioning players into core 4X strategy gameplay.
- TikTok has emerged as a major competitor for user attention and spending, moving into the top five ad networks for gaming and capturing significant consumer wallet share, with US users accounting for 40% of its total spend.
Will We Make More This Way or That Way?: Monetization A/B Testing Guide
Monetization A/B testing serves as a critical methodology for mobile app developers to validate hypotheses regarding ad revenue strategies, such as impression frequency, waterfall configurations, and ad network selection.
- Use an A/A/B testing framework with two control groups and one test group to ensure statistical accuracy and minimize the risk of misleading results.
- Measure success primarily through Day 7 Cumulative ARPU (LTV) to capture the long-term revenue impact of monetization changes.
- Only pursue hypotheses that anticipate at least a 10% change in the focus metric, as smaller variations are considered inconclusive.
MW3 Controversy / Live Service Evolutions / Roblox Earnings / Esports Woes
The gaming industry is currently undergoing a period of structural recalibration, characterized by a tension between the pursuit of high-frequency live service revenue and the necessity of maintaining product quality.
- The gaming industry is facing a structural conflict where the high profitability of annual release models, such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, incentivizes rushed development cycles despite significant consumer criticism regarding product quality.
- Major publishers are diverging in strategy, with Sony scaling back its internal live service pipeline while other firms continue to prioritize long-term engagement models over core premium experiences.
- The success of the Steam Deck OLED and Roblox demonstrates that long-term market viability is increasingly driven by cross-platform accessibility and software integration rather than hardware-locked exclusivity.
Who's Lovin Applovin (APP) | Plus Unity Update
Unity is currently navigating a period of significant organizational transition following the retirement of CEO John Riccitiello.
- AppLovin’s software segment is currently driving performance with 28% growth and 67% EBITDA margins, largely fueled by controversial fingerprinting techniques for user acquisition.
- AppLovin faces significant regulatory risk as Apple intensifies enforcement against fingerprinting, which could lead to an App Store ban and the disruption of its primary revenue stream.
- Unity is undergoing major organizational restructuring and cost-cutting following the retirement of CEO John Riccitiello, though its dominant market share makes a mass migration to Unreal Engine unlikely in the near term.
Warcraft Rumble: Deep dive into game's complexity, spend depth, systems, vectors, UA, creatives(#84)
Warcraft Rumble represents a strategic evolution of the mobile lane-battler genre, successfully adapting the Clash Royale formula by integrating expansive, scrolling maps and intricate gold-mining mechanics.
- Warcraft Rumble features an aggressive monetization model where fully maxing a single deck costs approximately €4,700, with a full collection completion estimated at €40,000.
- The game generates daily revenues between $250,000 and $600,000, positioning it as a high-engagement niche product for existing Blizzard fans rather than a mass-market mobile title.
- User acquisition is currently limited and conservative, relying on organic reach and repurposed trailer footage rather than performance-driven creatives or aggressive mobile-first strategies.
2023 Japan Mobile Game Market Trends
The 2023 Japan Mobile Game Market Trends report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Japanese mobile gaming landscape, focusing on revenue, download trends, and the competitive dynamics between domestic and international publishers.
- Japan remains the world's third-largest mobile gaming market, generating 18% of global revenue with projected annual earnings of nearly $14 billion.
- The market maintains the highest revenue per download (RPD) globally at $21, significantly outperforming the United States.
- Role-Playing Games (RPGs) dominate the sector, accounting for 48% of total market revenue, followed by strategy and sports titles.
Mobile Game Market Review: November 2023
This market review analyzes mobile gaming trends and performance for November 2023, focusing on the United States and Chinese markets.
- Midcore mobile titles are increasingly gating core event gameplay and story missions behind paywalls, as seen in Free Fire’s Luminous Pass and State of Survival’s Resident Evil collaboration.
- The casual gaming sector is experiencing widespread mechanical imitation, specifically the adoption of 'Social Win Streak' and 'Digging Minigame' features by major titles like Monopoly GO! and Matchington Mansion.
- The 3D match subgenre is seeing rapid expansion and increased competition from industry leaders, with King and Peak launching Candy Crush 3D and Match Factory to challenge the success of Triple Match 3D.
How IP and Brand Collaborations Level Up Games
IP and brand collaborations serve as a critical strategic lever for boosting player engagement and revenue in the modern games market.
- Aligning in-game collaborations with external transmedia marketing, such as theatrical film releases, can drive DAU increases of up to 120%.
- IP collaborations generate an average 11% increase in daily active users (DAU) during the first week of launch, with engagement typically peaking between the fourth and fifth days.
- Premium games see a 19% average DAU boost from collaborations, significantly outperforming free-to-play titles, which see an 8% increase due to a heavier reliance on cosmetic-only content.
Supercell's Mo.co: First look! New game in closed beta - not even in soft launch yet
Supercell is currently testing Mo.co, an isometric, player-versus-environment action RPG that marks a strategic departure from the company’s traditional focus on competitive, player-versus-player titles.
- Supercell's Mo.co is a PvE-focused action RPG, marking a strategic departure from the company's historically PvP-dominant portfolio.
- The game utilizes a mission-based progression system where XP is gated exclusively by completing specific tasks, preventing players from grinding XP through general gameplay.
- Progression is heavily reliant on a gear-check mechanic where item upgrades are strictly tied to the player's character level, preventing the concentration of resources into a single piece of equipment.
Game Pass Growth / FaZe Acquired / Netflix’s Game Plan
Microsoft is recalibrating its strategic focus for Xbox Game Pass by removing subscriber growth targets from executive compensation packages.
- Microsoft has removed subscriber growth targets from executive compensation after Xbox Game Pass achieved only 28% growth against an aggressive 73% goal.
- Netflix is currently seeing only 1% of its total subscriber base engage with its gaming library on a daily basis.
- GameSquare acquired FaZe Clan for $17 million, signaling a strategic shift in esports toward influencer-led content models rather than traditional tournament-focused team structures.
Top Troops Global launch case study: Game design, Ad monetisation & UA review (#82)
Top Troops represents a strategic evolution of the Battle Legion formula, transitioning from a PvP-focused meta to a PvE-centric progression system.
- Top Troops launched globally on October 4th, but experienced a slow start with approximately $6,000 in daily revenue during its first week despite years of development.
- The game utilizes a merge mechanic that lacks strategic depth, as players primarily brute-force progression using legendary units while ignoring a large portion of the available unit roster.
- Top Troops prioritizes IAP-driven revenue and currently generates less than 10% of its total income from ad monetization, significantly lower than comparable titles like Dragon City which reach 30%.